🎁🎁🎁

Family!

Happy Boxing Day! Hope everyone had a great Christmas and was able to

remember the true meaning!

It's been an interesting week full of ups and downs of course. My back

has been pretty bad all week which has been frustrating but I am doing

my best to trust in Heavenly Father. I know He has a plan that is

perfect sometimes we just need to be patient.

Christmas was amazing! I loved being able to talk to my cute family. I

feel so lucky to have you all for eternity! We went to church and a

part member family came that we have been working with which was a

miracle. They seemed to really enjoy it and I feel like they will

continue to come. After church we went to a members home for literally

the whole day and it was so nice! We played games and ate and played

more games and ate some more. It was a great day to relax and enjoy

Christmas.

But it's another holiday here and I don't have much time because more

parties haha! But I love you all and will send lots of pics!

Happy new Year!

Love, sister Stevens

President and Sister Turvey handing out packages at the Christmas Party

I found the best street ever!

Caroling

We delivered a nativity piece to a member each night, like our family does,  and she had them  all hanging cute in her house.

Christmas Eve

12 days of Christmas sent by the youth from our Utah ward

Christmas Jammie (comfies) from Nan and Pop matching cousins

T-shirt sent from Norton fam Christmas Party

Playing Uno on Christmas Eve

chruch on Christmas Day

r

Christmas Day

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Merry Christmas everyone!! It's the best time of the year 🎄🌟 

Wow this season has gone by so fast I can't even believe it!  We have been doing our best to bring in the Christmas Spirit. This week our district put on a little performance (haha) for all our recent converts of when Samuel the Lamanite prophesied about Christ's birth. This is all their first Christmas in the church so we wanted to make it special. We made a huge pot of taco soup and sang carols, it was a lot of fun. 

We have been reading the Christmas story in Luke 2 with as many members as we can and it has become so much more meaningful to me. I think of the wonderful example of the shepherds, who didn't wait but who went with haste to see the precious baby Jesus. Who then went and made known abroad this exciting event, that our Saviour was born! I hope we can all follow the example of these humble shepherds and follow the Saviour & share His light! 

Something that has brought me so much peace this year, especially being away from home is Christmas music. As I listen to the words, it helps me remember why we celebrate. I feel so blessed to be able to serve a mission during the Christmas season. Of course I miss Justin Bieber's Christmas album, driving around with my family looking at Christmas lights, the Hallmark channel, and endless Christmas get togethers with crazy family but this is a Christmas I will never forget. It has helped me realise what really matters and will help me remember that the most memorable Christmas was spent in the service of my Saviour.

One of the songs that have really stuck out to me lately is "He Sent His Son": 

How could the Father tell the world of love and tenderness?

He sent his Son, a newborn babe, with peace and holiness.

How could the Father show the world the pathway we should go?

He sent his Son to walk with men on earth, that we may know.

How could the Father tell the world of sacrifice, of death?

He sent his Son to die for us and rise with living breath.

What does the Father ask of us? What do the scriptures say?

Have faith, have hope, live like his Son, help others on their way.

What does he ask? Live like his Son.

We are so blessed to know that we have a Saviour, someone to help us and comfort us through the problems we face. I know that when we are doing all we can to follow Him we can feel that comfort and peace. But it only comes when we really try. 

I hope we can continue to feel His light and spirit even after the season is over. President Monson said, "As we SEEK Christ, as we find Him, as we follow Him, we shall have the Christmas spirit not just for one fleeting day each year, but as a companion always." 

I hope you all can feel Christ's love as we celebrate Him this season. 

Have a very Merry Christmas!

Love, Sister Stevens 

Before our performance...haha

Presentation we did for the new converts

Sister Pro, my trainer

gifts we made for the members

coach ride home from our South Zones mission tour

Sister Blairs farewell :(

Our flat decorated for Christmas
The ward loves us, so many things from them!  Blessed to be serving in Hull 1

Posterity Pic

Making Taco Soup for the recent convert Christmas presentation

more funeral prep pics

at the funeral with some new converts

Hull 1 District and Hull Zone
we were fruit ninjas

decorating the tree
When we took it out of the box we just laughed
hahaha

13 days till Christmas!? 🎄🌟

Fam! 

This week has been great! Sister Melgarejo and I are staying together in Hull for Christmas! We are excited. The ward here is amazing and they make it feel like home! (Well almost...) Christmas cards are a huge thing here and literally everyone gives you one, so on Sunday we got millions hahaha it is kinda funny. They have this huge table full of cards for everyone. It's nice and thoughtful though :) 

Highlights:

We received a referral a while ago and were finally able to get in contact with him! His name is Freddy and we met with him and his 2 kids who are 7 & 9. Freddy is excited to work towards a baptismal date. They came to a church Christmas party and was so cute how his kids were welcomed by all the other kids. Then the next morning him, his kids, and his wife all came to church! They loved it and loved the environment. And they all speak Spanish so Sister Melgarejo was in heaven! We are so excited for them! 

Carmen, the member referral has been facing some opposition from her family but was able to accept a baptismal date! We are grateful she has the example of their friends who are members. Member missionary work is the way to go! We taught her the plan of salvation and testified that she can live her family forever. She got emotional and said her father has recently passed, she said she felt so comforted when she heard that. 

We attended a funeral of a little boy today who passed from cancer. It was the sweetest little funeral. We helped the mom yesterday blow up hundreds of balloons and put them together for decorations. It was a lot of work but it made her so happy. She made it more like a party, a happy time that he gets to return to his Heavenly Father and not suffer anymore. She put out all the things he loved and had everyone wear bright colours and served his favourite food. It was a special, inspiring, service. 

Christmas is coming so fast! I can't believe it. I love the Christmas season and the feeling it brings. We got a little 3 foot white Christmas tree and decorated it last pday and made tons of paper chains and snowflakes so it's finally started to feel like Christmas! It's the best time of the year. I hope amongst the craziness you can all feel the true spirit of the season that come through remembering our Saviour and serving others. 

I love you all and hope you have a great week :)

Love, sister Stevens 

We helped with a ward primary activity 

This is Masen.  He is my little Bennett, they are so alike it kills me!

Funeral Prep.  9:45am-8:45pm at the chapel yesterday.
Our district in unified now :)

Funeral/Party

Sister Blair is being transferred :(

blessings from Heaven!

Family!!

Do you remember last week when I said that we had a district miracle and all of us found a new investigator? Well, they have all dropped us.. haha. I am a firm believer that Heavenly Father sometimes gives a miracle just for the moment when we really need it. But because of our desire to work hard we have really been able to see more miracles and the fruits that come from working hard! 

We have really been praying to find people who could be baptised in December. We went through our former investigators from the area and tried by some of them. One lady met missionaries over 20 years ago and she absolutely loves the church and we will be able to teach her this coming week. Another man we met on the street has met with missionaries before as well and loves them! We are also seeing him this week. It has just been amazing to see Heavenly Father's hand in our work. 

One of the families in our ward called the Nappers gave us a referral this week. It is amazing because we have been prayerfully helping them become more involved in missionary work and to invite their friends to activities and church. Sister Melgarejo and I stopped by the referral, her name is Carmen (she is even from Spain!! such a blessing for Sister Mel!) and we were able to teach her the first lesson and she invited us to come back to learn more! She even said that she feels like this is the right time to learn more. She said the Nappers have been such a great example to her and her family and she wants to be more like them. We testified that it is because of their faith in Jesus Christ. 

We have really been blessed this week!I am so grateful for the power of prayer and fasting. I have seen the blessings that come from both of those things this week. We will continue to pray and fast for these 'ones' we have been lead to find. And we will keep working hard to find more of Heavenly Father's children to teach. 

One of my goals recently is to work on developing the girt of charity. I know this is something that I can really help me to feel more love and compassion for people I talk to and help me have a stronger desire to serve those around me. 

Because Christmas is just around the corner I have a Christmas challenge for each family! So for me, one of the greatest gifts I have ever received is the Book of Mormon. I know that because of that book we can know that God is there and He loves us. I challenge each family to write their testimonies in a Book of Mormon and wrap it up and prayerfully decide who you want to give it to for Christmas! I know that it is the best gift you can give and someone can receive! Let me know how it goes :)

I love you all so much!!! Enjoy all the beautiful snow and fun Christmasy things! But don't forget to remember the reason for the season!!

love,

Sister Stevens xxx

We got help help decorate a tree for a member family.  But it was the saddest night.  She had just separated from her husband, she has 3 young kids and the their little boy who is almost 2 has cancer and had not been doing well.  She asked us to come help because she was moving.  About 20 minutes after we left he passed away.  She told us a couple days later that is was such a blessing to have us there that night.  We all just cried when we found out.  So sad, but she is so strong and she is grateful he isn't suffering anymore.  She wants us to sing at his funeral this week.  This will be the 3rd funeral I've been to since being on my mission.

Dinner at the missionary house with our district and 2 recent converts

lol last Pday my back was hurting too bad...